According to a new report by the World Health Organisation, Bacon is BAD! More accurately, the study says that processed meats like hot dogs, sausages and bacon can cause colon cancer and red meat is also a likely cause of the disease, World Health Organisation experts say, in a potentially heavy blow for the global meat industry.

The analysis of 800 studies from around the world by the International Agency for Research on Cancer – IARC – found “sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer”.

“Each 50-gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 per cent,” it said in a statement.

The category includes meat that has been salted, cured, fermented or smoked, hot dogs, sausages, corned beef, dried meat like beef jerky or South African biltong, canned meat or meat-based sauces.

The finding supports “recommendations to limit intake of meat” particularly in processed forms, the IARC said :: Read the full article »»»»

A popular camping ground in California’s Yosemite National Park will be shut down temporarily after a pair of dead squirrels were found to be infected with the plague, officials say.

The closure of Tuolumne Meadows Campground comes a week after a child who camped elsewhere in Yosemite, one of America’s top tourist destinations, was hospitalised with the disease.

The case marked the first time a human was known to be infected with the centuries-old scourge, which is carried by rodents and the fleas that live on them, in California since 2006.

The campground will be closed from Monday through Friday of next week based on “new evidence of plague activity in animals”, Karen Smith, director of the California department of public health, said in a statement :: Read the full article »»»»

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year as punishment for challenging his authority, South Korea’s spy agency has told a closed-door parliament meeting.

A vice minister for forestry was one of the officials executed for complaining about a state policy, a member of parliament’s intelligence committee, Shin Kyung-min, quoted an unnamed National Intelligence Service official as saying.

“Excuses or reasoning doesn’t work for Kim Jong-un, and his style of rule is to push through everything, and if there’s any objection, he takes that as a challenge to authority and comes back with execution as a showcase,” Mr Shin said.

“In the four months this year, 15 senior officials are said to have been executed,” Mr Shin cited the intelligence official as saying, according to his office :: Read the full article »»»»